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Upton Comments on Noble Deepwater Permit

February 28, 2011

As Crisis in Libya Continues to Drive Prices Higher, It's Time to Get America's Energy Producers Back On Line

WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) welcomed today's announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) that it had issued a permit to Noble Energy to continue work on a well about 70 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. Noble started drilling the well four days before the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The permit follows recent news that a well containment system, a key condition for reinstatement of Gulf oil production, is now operational in the Gulf. Upton made the following statement:

"The Noble deepwater permit is an important, overdue step as we seek to reinvigorate our Gulf exploration and put folks back to work. The Administration must now take its foot off the brakes and fully pursue exploration in the Gulf and Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) as we cannot afford further inaction. The ongoing turmoil in Libya has dramatically underscored our vulnerabilities to price spikes and supply disruptions here at home due to events that are out of our control half a world away.

"The unfortunate reality remains that until we have a coherent, visionary energy policy that proudly embraces domestic resources, our nation's families will continue to pay the price at the pump for our policy shortfalls. We can and must do better.

"We are in desperate need of thoughtful, long-term solutions to fortify our energy security, and renewing our exploration in the Gulf and OCS is a critical piece of the puzzle. With more permits like Noble, the more energy we will produce safely here at home, putting folks back to work, and improving our security and energy-independence."